Needle protection devices that utilize a housing that pivots relative to the base are exemplified by a number of U.S. patents assigned to the assignee of the instant application. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,982,842, 5,139,489, 5,154,285, 5,232,454, 5,232,455, 5,277,311 and 5,423,765, among others. There are other patents also assigned to the assignee of the instant invention that disclose the anchoring of the housing to the base of a needle. In U.S. patents RE37,110, RE37,252 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,713, there is disclosed the mating of an anchor at the base to an opening at the housing. Although feasible, it has been found that such embodiment entails the need for an anchor that has to be of a given length, as well as an opening that has to be well defined. Moreover, the portion of the housing where the opening is to be provided has to be sufficiently thin so as to provide the flexibility that enables the anchor to first pierce through and then be anchored to the opening. Further, with the anchor piercing through the housing, given that contaminated blood may well be splattered to the anchor as the housing closes over the contaminated needle, there may be a chance that contaminated fluid from the needle may be exposed on the backside of the housing where the anchor protrudes. Furthermore, such anchor based needle protection device is difficult to implement with a hook mechanism inside the housing, as the contact between the anchor and the opening at the housing would conflict with the retention of the needle by a hook in the housing, as exemplified by the aforenoted U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,842.